China's Climate Change Policy Process: improved but still weak and fragmented

China has recently become the world's largest emitter of carbon and is already facing many harmful effects domestically from climate change. Chinese leaders have therefore made a high-level commitment to curb emissions, as evident in the 2007 National Climate Change Program. However, the government has missed many of its targets, in particular its goal of reducing energy intensity. This essay argues that China is missing its targets because of a number of factors which stem from the fragmented nature of China's authoritarian system. First, environmental policies are too broad and complicated, making it difficult for regulators to enforce the laws. Second, the current incentive structures of promotion and salary cause local officials to give higher priority to economic development than to environmental issues. Third, environmental regulators, such as the judiciary and environmental agencies, remain weak and impeded by enforcement obstacles. While positive changes have occurred, such as the emergence of NGOs and the media as environmental watchdogs and a burgeoning clean technology sector, much remains to be done to improve the long-term viability of climate change policies in China. Based on the preceding analysis, this essay recommends ways by which the government could improve the process of enacting and implementing climate change policies. It also urges the international community to sympathize with the Chinese government and, by leading the way, help the government gain greater compliance with climate change policies.     

I'll Do It,Later China's netizens find a novel way to cope with chronic procrastination

Zhao Yixin never thought she was actually suffering from a disease.She hadn't even come across the word--procrastination. As a senior student at Beijing Union University,Zhao has been researching and writing her graduate essay for almost half a year but hasn't succeeded in finishing even half of it. "I know I always put off tasks so I started earlier than other students," Zhao said."But I still haven't managed to finish it while most of my classmates already completed the essay." Zhao said that her habit of putting off tasks can be dated back to primary school years,when she didn't want to do her homework and always put it off to late night."I sat at the desk all the time but my mind couldn't concentrate," Zhao said."I kept making promises to myself that I'll do the homework in 10 minutes,but after many 10 minutes,I still couldn't start.I don't think I am the only one in my class acting like this.It seems that we are all like this when we chat about our homework."     

China's Move to Preferential Trading: a new direction in China's diplomacy

China was a latecomer to the preferential trading bandwagon that has swept East Asia in the years since the financial crises. The Chinese government was unwilling to go down the path of negotiating bilateral and minilateral agreements until the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organization were finalized. Since then, it has become one of the most active participants in the negotiation of preferential trading arrangements, currently being engaged in negotiations with more than 20 countries. The paper will address the following questions about China's move to preferential trade: (a) What forces are driving China's approach to the negotiation of preferential trade agreements? (b) To what extent is it possible to untangle economic and political motivations in China's choice of partners for PTA negotiations? And, which economic interests are being pursued most aggressively? (c) How are conflicting domestic interests reconciled in the policy-making process? (d) To what extent will the new PTAs facilitate Chinese-dominated production networks in the regions? (e) What overall impact will the PTAs have on the Chinese economy?     

依宪执政：建国六十年中国共产党执政方式的新思维

中国自从建同以来，中国共产党的执政方式可划分为三个阶段：建国到十一届三中全会为依政策执政阶段；十一届三中全会到十五大为依法制执政阶段；十五大以后为依法制执政向依法治执政转型阶段。依法执政实质是依宪执政，是党执政方式的新思维，而党依宪执政的关键是确立宪法至上。     

新时代坚持党的领导的实践逻辑

中国共产党的领导是中国特色社会主义最本质的特征和最大的政治优势。坚持党的领导是中国共产党百年奋斗历史经验的深刻总结,是实现中华民族伟大复兴的必然要求。学习党的十九届六中全会精神,必须深入理解和准确把握新时代坚持党的领导的实践逻辑,即为什么要坚持党的领导以及如何坚持党的领导的重大问题。新时代的中国共产党人必须明确坚持党的领导不仅是百年来中华民族取得伟大成就的根本原因,也是新征程上奋力实现中华民族伟大复兴宏伟目标的政治保证;坚持党的领导要求在实践中必须坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导、自觉遵守党的组织纪律和政治纪律、贯彻落实党的群众路线、勇于开展党的自我革命以及持续推进全面依法治国等,以切实增强贯彻落实坚持党的领导的思想自觉和行动自觉。     

中国共产党与中国政治发展:90年的基本经验

一般来说,政治发展在内容上包含了政治结构更加合理、政治功能更加健全、政治决策更加科学、政治体制更加完善等方面.建党90年来,中国共产党领导和推动中国政治发展取得了辉煌的成就,可以把基本经验归结为:必须坚持党的领导,并不断加强和改善党的领导;必须坚持中国化的马克思主义为指导;必须坚持走自己的路;必须同时代主题和每一时期的中心任务结合起来.     

协商合法性:中国共产党与中国合法性建构的政治逻辑

政绩合法性和民族主义合法性都不能有效解释中国共产党执政的合法性。在社会历史文化传统中,西方政权合法性的基础在于竞争性选举,中国政权合法性的基础在于协商。西方选举合法性立基于国家与社会分立、政府与精英对立之上,中国协商合法性立基于国家与社会、政府与精英合作之上。西方选举合法性主要通过选举形成的社会力量制约国家力量,中国传统协商合法性主要通过"天命"制约皇权,要求皇权爱民护民。协商合法性塑造了中国人特有的协商思维方式,即不重视程式性选举,而重视实质性的解民生之困。中国共产党继承了协商合法性传统,又对其进行创造性转化,批判了其中的"天命"观念,摆脱了传统协商的居高临下姿态,建构了以群众路线、三三制、协商民主和统一战线为主要内容的协商合法性新形态,使协商成为实现人民当家作主的重要方式,成为中国共产党领导与执政的合法性之源。     

期待可能性论:作为抗制死刑的论辩术

在司法中限制死刑的路径有两种,一是适用罪名限制,二是适用情节限制,它们在适用中存在充分论证的问题。以期待可能性论为核心进行责任评价,是有效抗制死刑的论辩方式,它主要考虑十种情景性因素。     

The Party and the Sage: Communist China's use of quasi-Confucian rationalizations for one-party dictatorship and imperial ambition

The current bloom of quasi-Confucian political thinking and writing in the People's Republic of China (PRC), encouraged by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and deployed both to discredit Western ideals of democratic pluralism and to rationalize continued one-party rule in China, has been a long time coming. This article examines the origins of this line of thinking, its development since its first appearance with the CCP's cultivation of Confucius studies in the mid-1980s, and the current parameters of this discourse as it has taken a growing role in Beijing's domestic political and emerging geopolitical narrative.     

百年来中国共产党领导群团的历史逻辑与基本经验

在中国共产党100年的奋斗历程中,尤其重视通过群团组织开展群众工作,为完成党在不同历史时期的中心任务而汇聚力量。这是党的一大创举,也是党的一大优势。革命年代,中国共产党通过组织群团、发展群团为党积聚革命力量,成为夺取全国性胜利的重要基石。建设时期,中国共产党通过壮大群团、依靠群团来巩固人民政权,开展大规模经济建设和社会革命。改革开放以来,中国共产党通过加强群团、开发群团,完善其应有功能,架构起多元治理主体之间沟通与协商的桥梁,成为执政党推进事业发展、巩固执政基础的有力抓手。进入新时代,中国共产党大力推进群团改革,正本清源,重塑形象,团结带领亿万人民群众投身为中华民族伟大复兴而奋斗的洪流中。     

China's banking sector: From administrative control to a regulatory framework

The development of the banking sector has been one of the primary vehicles for stimulating the economic growth of China since the late 1970s. This paper presents, first, an overview of the institutional structure of the Chinese banking system, and second, an analysis of the development process of commercial bank regulations. With reference to international experience, the paper argues that several institutional problems have posed major challenges to the effective implementation of the promulgated bank regulations. These problems include: the impossibility for state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) to go bankrupt, the strong influence of local governments on banks’ operation, and the lack of an effective enforcement mechanism.     

Tales From a Festival The Dragon Boat Festival, one of China's traditions, has a long history and many legends attached to it

The Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar.In 2011,it falls on June 6 of the solar calendar.The festival,which is celebrated by all Chinese,has a history of more than 2,500 years.As a popular ballad in ancient time goes:“The smell of rice dumpling spreads in the kitchen.The fragrance of mugwort leaves fills the whole house.Peach branches are decorated at the gate.Yellow wheat fills the eyes as you step out of the gate,” depicts how Chinese people celebrate the festival.     

创新是全面建设小康社会的必由之路

党的“十六大”报告提出了全面建设小康社会的宏伟目标,这是在我国人民经过50余年艰苦奋斗,尤其是20余年改革开放所取得的伟大成果基础上的又一奋斗目标。与此同时,党的“十六大”从很高的战略视点提出了创新问题。这一思路昭示了创新与全面建设小康社会的必然联系。因此我们有必要对这种联系进行深入的理论探讨。     

如何正确理解矛盾范畴

逻辑矛盾和辩证矛盾是两种不同的"矛盾之说,"但二者对矛盾范畴的基本理解是一致的,即矛盾双方的对立是一种抽象的对立。随着马克思主义的矛盾辩证法的引入,由于受到传统形象思维的影响,人们把辩证矛盾理解为一种类似矛与盾的一对一的具体的对立统一,这是对辩证矛盾范畴的一种误解。要准确地理解马克思主义的矛盾辩证法,需要首先消除这种误解。     

China's Defense White Papers: a critical appraisal

China's defense white papers have long been dismissed as lacking substance and offering little useful information on China's real strategic intentions and military capabilities. Nevertheless, since 1998 Beijing has continued to issue defense white papers on a regular two-year frequency. Indeed, in recent years it has accorded greater importance to these documents. This paper argues that China's defense white papers warrant more attention than they have received so far. An examination of the making of the white papers, the functions designated for these documents and their evolving content and structure reveals not only the different nature and purpose of the Chinese white papers compared with their counterparts in Western countries, but also important changes and continuities in China's strategic outlook and its evolving perceptions of the role of the use of force in the context of the country's re-emergence as a major player in international affairs.     

China's Fate as a Multinational State: a preliminary assessment

After the collapse of the two communist multinational states, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the fact that China survives as the only communist multinational state poses an interesting question: why does China remain intact and how long will it be able to survive in its present state? This paper tries to address these questions. The analysis is centred on three areas: the formation and characteristics of China's ethnic minorities and their role in this multinational state; the relevant domestic politics including institution building and polices; and the influence of external conditions such as international law and realpolitik. The preliminary finding is that in fact only two minority groups in two regions, Tibetans in Tibet and Uygurs in Xinjiang, have the real potential of secession, but it is very unlikely that China as a multinational state will disintegrate in the near future because the internal environment and international politics do not constitute adequate conditions for that to happen.     

构建高校学生党员教育培训的长效机制

高校学生党员的教育培训工作是高校党建的重要组成部分,构建高校学生党员教育培训的长效机制对于加强党的执政能力、落实人才强国战略以及加强学生党员的思想政治教育水平具有重要意义。构建高校学生党员教育培训的长效机制可以通过加强思想政治教育、创新教育方法、丰富教育载体等措施得以实现。     

China's WTO Membership and the Non-Market Economy Status: discrimination and impediment to China's foreign trade

This article provides a Chinese perspective on the terms of China's WTO accession, highlighting the negative impact of some discriminatory conditions that China accepted in order to join the WTO on its foreign trade and global competitiveness in the last decade. The author uses the non-market economy status of China as a case study to support the argument that these discriminatory conditions imposed on China upon accession have not only impeded the healthy development of China's foreign trade, but also violated the ‘non-discrimination’ principle of the WTO.     

One Regulatory State,Two Regulatory Regimes: understanding dual regimes in China's regulatory state building through food safety

As China proceeds with a process of urbanization unprecedented in human history, it maintains an urban-biased governance regime in many areas, including food safety regulation. Using secondary data and interviews with officials from the Changping district in Beijing, this article systematically defines the main characteristics of China's dual food safety regulation regimes, highlighting differences between urban and rural areas in four dimensions: policy structure, funding source, staff structure and resource allocation. This article also provides an explanatory framework to understand this dual regime's development and persistence from a neo-institutionalism perspective. Three main explanatory variables are advanced: historical legacy, dual incentive structures, and dual economic and industrial patterns. While China's urbanization process and governance structure, including the food safety regulatory regime, are not complete by Western standards, we emphasize this problem is best understood by examining China's unique socioeconomic and cultural context.     

Unconventional Threats to China's National Security: A teaching note

This teaching note has two objectives: first, to describe a particular type of teaching method and its special benefits; and second, to provide a substantive example of the kind of intellectual insights (in this case, understandings of Chinese national security) that can be achieved by using this method. The teaching situation described was an introductory graduate seminar on Chinese foreign policy, taught at the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1998. Critical comments on either the teaching method or the substantive arguments presented here would be welcome at pvan@coombs.anu.edu.au.